Universe in the palm of the hand
by Melitot Proud Eye
Summary: "But she... she believed in that dream. If she could pay with misery for that future sweetness, then she would not give up." The everyday life of a dragon, a fox and a lizard-man dealing with an Ancient dragon pup, and also the past. Drabble collection
1. Chapter 1

Posted originally on AO3. Tags: Family, Slice of Life, Adopted Child, Angst, Humor, Motherly love, Post-TRY, drabbles

Notes: ooh, a translation at last? After so many years, I felt it was due ^^; I decided to translate some of my shorter works, since the Italian fandoms aren't much populated and I want to share with the world; it will take time, and I still don't know how many stories will be completed, but be assured that I'm doing my best (and Universe is almost done) =D  
><strong>Keep in mind that I couldn't get a beta-reader, so please forgive - and point out - any mistakes you should find<strong>.  
>Enjoy =3<p>

Title taken from Slayers Try Treasury II (Vargarv's reincarnation's theme).  
>For LordRandallsLady, who wrote that magnificent collection called <em>Tales of Kenji.<em>

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><p><strong>.<br>**

**.  
><strong>

**Cradle and song, joy and regret**

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She sang and rocked, sang and rocked; sweet rolling scented of water and earth. A tiredness dissolved by the presence of friends, a home and a future warm like tea.  
>Sometimes, she fell asleep on the still wet potter's wheel.<p>

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_I held a jewel in my fingers -  
>and went to sleep -<br>the day was warm, and winds were prosy -  
>I said "'Twill keep"<em>

_.  
><em>

Var mumbled in the cradle; Filia then cleaned her hands and caressed his brow, recognizing the signs of a masterpiece.

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><p>Lyrics: Emily Dickinson.<br>Words: 83. I know... not a pure drabble ;p

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><p>.<p>

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**With a finger she sowed a tear**

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And a disappointment, and another one still...  
>People did not understand. They lived in suspicion, convinced they pursued some kind of success by listening to pride. Fear sat at their side. And Filia felt sorrow her companion when she took Var home, the child either disappointed, shocked or wounded.<br>Why was it so difficult not to hurt others? Why did they despise a dream? Everyone lived angrily.  
>But she... she believed in that dream. If she could pay with misery for that future sweetness, then she would not give up. For her, the sky was blue, always, even under the blackest of clouds.<p>

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><p>.<p>

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**The weight of the past**

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Sometimes she felt him, near and dark like the dusk. She went out on the balcony with the little one in her arms, silent, trying to read the wind.  
>Maybe it was useless. Besides, she would never learn the truth from him.<br>Grateful that his visits were sporadic, she was afraid of the fortuitousness with which he appeared nonetheless. She did not flatter herself thinking it was for her, either for good or bad. Every night, she slept with an ear to the cradle, forcing her hands not to take the baby into her bed.  
>Luna's shield would protect him (she tried to believe).<p>

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><p>.<p>

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**Summer song**

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>By now, evening had descended on Plum's Hillock and a mother's voice sang clear and sweet from the house. Leafy branches, laden with fruits, swayed high on the sunflowers' heads, which a fox had wanted to plant under the infant's window – golden decoration to a minuscule garden.<p>

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_O evening,  
>you gather the things<br>that went lost under the sun..._

_.  
><em>

The fox put the hoe against the wall and sat under the windowsill, half a smile on his lips. And the mother sang:

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_O evening,  
>you gather the things<br>that went lost under the sun..._

_._

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><p><span>Notes:<span> Filia's song^ comes from _Madicken at June Hill_ by Astrid Lindgren and is a translation from the Italian version, so I apologise if it doesn't match with the original English translation (couldn't get my hands on one).  
>...Those spaces. I cannot - for the life of me - figure out how to leave a space or two between paragraphs without putting a period in the middle = meh.

Stay tuned for the last installments ;D


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes**: here is the end, at last! Again, un-betaed. Number five is actually a flashfic, not a drabble; just a bit of Filia 'n' Jiras shenanigans, with Var being Var :)

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**V**  
><strong>Mums<strong>

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"Mama. Ma-ma. Come on, try! Maa-maa."  
>Var watched her from the highchair, perplexed. Filia repeated, exaggerating the mouth movements. She got a comical mooing.<br>"No" she laughed, tickling his cheek. "See how I do it."  
>There came other attempts, which tore a snicker from Gurabos. Filia sank against the back of her chair with a sigh, picking up a teaspoon. "I thought he would speak, this time."<br>Ziras, who had finished watering the flowerbeds, leaned inside over the windowsill. "If I were you I'd quit trying, boss. Never heard such noises in my entire life, hell's bells."  
>"El... 'ell. Hell!"<br>The three of them turned to Var, who was staring inspired at his uncle.  
>"What did you say, love?" Filia stammered, rooted to the spot.<br>The baby banged a little fist on his plate and repeated, imitating their dismayed faces: "Hell!"  
>Seconds of silence.<br>"Jiras... my child did _not_ just learn a swear word from you, did he? His _first_ word?"  
>The fox flattened his ears on his skull. "H-Hell isn't exactly a–"<br>"_He didn't, did he?"_  
>"Oh my–oh no, boss, not the mace–no, heelp!"<p>

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><p><strong><strong>.

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**VI**  
><strong>For this and many other things<strong>

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She observes him play, a laughing vision, and thinks of the first time she saw him, a tall figure swooping down the sky on the barren face of a desert. She remembers the shock – she had never encountered _one of those creatures_ before – and Vargarv's single answer to Lina's doubts (_"A demon?"_), so fraught with secrets...

_"More or less."_

Oh, the things Filia hadn't known yet. Experience opens one's eyes more than a thousand cassocks, dogmas and codices' shelves; for her it has been so: she left the closed world of childhood and became a woman by crossing continents.  
>And for this, as for many other things, she has him to thank.<br>"Mama!"  
>She envelopes him in an embrace, holding on tight. "Var, where is Uncle?"<br>"He's seen a fish."  
>"He'll fall in the river again."<br>The child giggles and flees; Filia breathes that sound.

_Yes, Var. Let me hear you laugh once more... let me hear you laugh._

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><em>

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><em>

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><em>

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><p>So this is the end, at least for now. Periodically I fall back in the <em>Slayers<em> fandom and, since I'll never stop liking Vargarv and Filia, there might be other chapters in the future. Not sure when, though.  
>Hope you liked this short foray into mum!Filia's world :D<p> 


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